Local Roundup -- Published Feb. 2, 2013

MANTECA - Guillermo Nunez scored 18 points and fellow senior Eric Melgar had 13 to help the Sierra boys basketball team claim a 50-41 Valley Oak League win against crosstown rival East Union on Friday night.

The Record

MANTECA - Guillermo Nunez scored 18 points and fellow senior Eric Melgar had 13 to help the Sierra boys basketball team claim a 50-41 Valley Oak League win against crosstown rival East Union on Friday night.

The Timberwolves (19-0, 11-0 VOL) extended their winning streak to 19 games after matching East Union's physical intensity in the constant din of a boisterous student cheering section in the packed Sierra gymnasium.

"We're not going to make excuses," said Sierra coach Scott Thomason, who lamented his team's turnovers and poor shooting. "Give East Union credit - they played hard. Our crowd was loud and we liked it, even though it was hard to hear the officials or to call a play. We want this place to be a hostile environment.

"Our seniors were 14-0 last year and also won (VOL) championships their freshman and sophomore years," Thomason said. "They have a chance to do something pretty special if they can win it again this year. People don't understand how hard it is to stay focused and hungry every game (in a winning streak)."

Sierra broke away from an 8-8 tie with a 9-0 run to grab a 17-8 lead over the Lancers (16-7, 5-6) after the first quarter. East Union battled back, and senior Jordan Kron's bank-shot 3-pointer helped pull his team to within 25-21 at the half.

The Timberwolves led 30-25 late in the third before Nunez hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to give Sierra a 35-25 lead going into the final quarter. Justin Patton scored six of his nine points to help hold off the Lancers before fouling out with a just more than a minute left.

"We know and (Sierra) knows this is a rivalry," Lancers coach Brett Lewis said. "We just have to approach it like any other game. I was happy with the intensity we brought to play as well as we did against them. We knew what to expect when we came in to play here. It was a slugfest."

- Scott Niendorf, Record Correspondent

At West, Gabe Vincent scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to help St. Mary's pull away and clinch the Tri-City Athletic League title. Zach Zeyen had 17 rebounds and nine points, and Devin Williams scored 12 points for the Rams (18-7, 7-0). Michael Young scored 10 points for the Wolf Pack (17-8, 4-4).

At Edison, Joshua Johnson scored 20 and Richard Newell had 11 for the Vikings (10-16, 4-4 TCAL), who outscored the Eagles 33-14 in the second half. Carl Coleman scored 15 points for McNair (11-14, 3-5).

At Monterey, sophomore Stevie Robinson had a double and three RBI as the Mustangs scored three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to get the win in their season opener. Freshman Sam Held pitched 5 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run to get the victory.

At Pacific, Taylor Hughes hit .361 and had 16 kills and four blocks to help the Tigers (4-3) beat the Banana Slugs (1-4) 21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-15 at Spanos Center.

Marco Grasso had 39 assists and Christian Ahlin had six blocks for Pacific.